What is Call-centre ‘drug cartel’ scam?

December 18, 2020

The Delhi Police Cyber Crime Unit recently arrested fifty-four people for allegedly fleecing Rs 90 crores from 4,500 foreign nations. The victims were told they are facing legal actions as they were being used to pay international drug cartels. The victims paid up to avoid legal actions as the team claimed themselves to be law enforcement officers. More than 89 desktops and servers were seized. The centre was in operation for more than two years.

What is the Scam?

According to the Delhi Police, the scammers in the plot will telephone the victims. They will tell them that their assets and bank accounts are being seized by officers from multiple law US enforcement agencies. Their accounts are being seized as the agencies found that their bank account details were involved in drug cartels in Colombia and Mexico. More than 4500 Americans fell for it. The victims were given a choice either to face arrest or an alternative dispute resolution. The alternative dispute resolution will allow the victims to avoid facing law. They were asked to buy Google gift cards or Bitcoins for all the money in their accounts. This money was then transferred to what the victims were told as a “save government wallet”, while in reality it actually belonged to the scammers.

Background

The Call centres generate 28 million USD of annual revenue to India. It employs more than 1.2 million people in the country. However, India has emerged as a hot spot for inline frauds. In August 2020, the Delhi police raided a call centre and arrested more than two dozen people for being involved in cheating 30,000 Americans. The accused had put malware onto their computers and then offered them to fix for a price.